Cotton swabs can be found in almost every household and are used in numerous applications. For example, cotton swabs are used to collect samples of microbiological cultures, DNA, and other substances by swiping an area of interest. Cotton swabs are also used in surgical procedures and/or to apply a medication, cleaning solution, ointment, and/or other substances to a selected area. Some users apply and/or remove make-up or other cosmetic formulas with cotton swabs. Other users clean small and/or tight spaces, such as a laser head of a CD/DVD player, with cotton swabs. However, the most common use of the cotton swabs is to remove cerumen (dead skin and secretions) and other ear debris from external ear canals and lobes.
A typical cotton swab includes a plastic stem having both ends wrapped with a cotton wad. By inserting one of the ends into the external ear canal and rotating the end inside the ear canal, the user is able to remove some of the cerumen collected within the ear canal. However, the ear canals have multiple cavities that collect cerumen, which makes it harder for the user to dislodge the cerumen. The typical cotton swab is not well suited for such a task and requires a lot of effort by the user to dislodge the cerumen. Further, while attempting to dislodge the cerumen, the user of the typical cotton swab may have to flatten the cerumen before removing it and/or inadvertently push the cerumen deeper into the ear canal, instead of removing the cerumen. Flattening of the cerumen and pushing of the cerumen inside the ear canal is unhealthy and may cause ear drum damage, bacterial infection, and other health complications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,143 discloses a cotton swab, whose end includes a conical member covered by cotton absorbent covering. Use of the conical member assures that the cotton swab's end has a size that is sufficiently large to prevent the user from inserting the cotton swab too deeply into the ear canal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,532 discloses an applicator swab having a swab head mounted on a support member with accordion-like folds located beneath the swab head. The accordion-like folds limit the pressure that can be exerted by the swab against the surface upon which the swab is being pushed. U.S. Publication No. 2008/0208100 describes an applicator swab having a swab tip, the surface of which is covered with a medical grade pressure sensitive adhesive. The adhesive for covering the surface of the swab tip is selected with such characteristics as to provide sufficient tack force to attach to and dislodge a large piece of cerumen from a person's ear. U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,239 discloses a cotton swab having a tapered end made from cotton and covered by a layer of exfoliating material, such as a loofah sponge.
U.S. Publication No. 2004/0220506 discloses a swab having each of the ends wrapped in terry cloth fabric that is affixed to the ends using an adhesive that prevents unraveling of the cloth. U.S. Publication No. 2009/0300867 discloses a cleaning swab having a handle with a thickened portion, which includes an internal canal forming a recess near the end of the thickened portion for collecting earwax when the user scraps the surface of the inner ear with the thickened portion. The handle of the cleaning swab may also include a stop surface, such as a disk, to prevent insertion by the user of the cleaning swab too deeply into the ear canal. U.S. Pat. No. 7,074,230 discloses an ear-cleaning device having a plastic body with an integral scoop at the end. The scoop has openings formed in the bottom of its bowl for scraping wax from the ears.
However, there is still a need for a cleaning device that allows for efficient removal of cerumen and minimizes the chance of a user damaging the ear canal or ear drum when using the cleaning device.